UK heatwave live: Thunderstorms hit Britain as record for June’s hottest day could be broken again – UK Times

South East Water has put an official temporary hosepipe use ban in place, covering much of the Kent region. Other areas served by the company – Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire and Sussex (both East and West) – have also been advised to pause all use.

A hosepipe ban is different to an advisory notice. Anyone caught breaching an official ban can be issued with a fine of up to £1,000.

Temperatures in southern areas of England and Wales did not drop below 22C all night, Met Office figures show.

London at 2am was still heating up at 23C south west of London at 2am, and remained at around 25C around the south eastern coast.

A tropical night is the meteorological term for an evening when the temperature does not drop below 20C.

Train passengers are being urged to avoid non-essential travel across much of England on Friday because of extreme heat.

Network Rail said services operating in the Met Office’s red and amber zones should only be used “if absolutely necessary”.

The red area – which is in place until 9pm – covers London and other parts of the South East.

The wider amber zone stretches from the south coast up to the North West and South Yorkshire, and is in force all day.

South Western Railway (SWR), which serves a number of popular coastal destinations in Dorset and Hampshire, including Bournemouth, issued a plea for people to avoid non-essential travel to beaches.

Like many operators across Britain, it has reduced its timetable on Friday and services that do run are expected to be busier than usual.

Stuart Meek, chief operating officer for SWR and Network Rail Wessex, said: “While it might be tempting to head down to the beach to enjoy the sunshine, we strongly urge customers to heed our advice to avoid getting stranded.”

Passengers with a ticket for Friday can use it at a different time or on another day up to and including Tuesday June 30 at no extra cost.

Alternatively they can obtain a refund without paying an admin fee.

A chief at the country’s largest ambulance service has warned people to drink responsibly and avoid exercising outside amid a punishing heatwave which has seen record-breaking temperatures for June.

The London Ambulance Service (LAS) responded to its highest number of life-threatening emergencies ever on Wednesday, and its chief operating officer Craig Harman said they expect “demand to grow day on day over the next couple of days”.

He said that it is not just the elderly and people with underlying health conditions affected by the heat, adding: “I’m saying to people I need you to drink water even when you’re not thirsty, staying out of the sun during the hottest parts of the day, and particularly not exercising outside and putting your body under additional heat and strain.”

A wildfire has torn through large areas of moorland and woodland near Greater Manchester, sending plumes of thick smoke across the villages of Tintwistle, Hollingworth and Woolley Bridge.

The wildfire, which erupted on Thursday night, has affected around 500 square metres.

Crews from Derbyshire and Greater Manchester attempted to tackle the flames overnight, but the fire rages on this morning.

The body which operates Britain’s electricity network has made another industry call for more power generation as the week’s heatwave rages on.

The National Energy System Operator (Neso) said electricity supplies may be squeezed on Friday.

Neso, which is tasked with making sure the supply of electricity matches demand for it, issued a so-called electricity margin notice for between 7pm and 10pm.

It is asking for 700 megawatts (MW) of power generation as a buffer to cover an expected shortfall in electricity margins.

It is the second time this week that Neso has issued a call for more power, having done the same before Wednesday.

However, the grid operator cancelled the warning shortly after 2pm on Wednesday, indicating it was confident in power supply levels for the evening.

A spokesman for Neso said its forecasts were showing “tight margins on the electricity system” for Friday evening.“This is due to the impact of extremely high temperatures affecting Great Britain and the continent,” it said.

Britons are due for another record-breaking day, as temperatures are expected to climb to 40C in the southeast of England.

The hottest weather is forecast in parts of Norfolk and Suffolk, which will likely experience the hottest June day ever, smashing yesterday’s record of 36.7C.

If temperatures go above 40.3C, it will be the hottest day ever recorded in the UK.

Climate scientists have warned that Britons will struggle to put food on the table within a matter of years, as heatwaves escalate and harvests continue to fail.

University of Oxford professor Paul Behrens has urged the government to act on the food security “crisis” he says the UK is facing, saying extreme weather events will continue to send food prices skyrocketing.

His message comes amid a heatwave that has smashed several records in the UK and prompted experts to issue stark warnings about increasingly frequent extreme heat events.

“Farmers are contending with an endless sequence of really extreme rain, heat, drought, and storm events, and this is all affecting the way in which we’re growing food,” Mr Behrens told The Independent.

“We’ve seen yields first stagnate and then drop in the country. We’re seeing farmers struggling with feeding animals during floods, because if the animals can’t go to pasture, then they have to buy and feed during the winter.”

Train passengers are being urged to avoid non-essential travel across much of England on Friday because of extreme heat.

Network Rail said services operating in the Met Office’s red and amber zones should only be used “if absolutely necessary”.

The red area – which is in place until 9pm – covers London and other parts of the South East.

The wider amber zone stretches from the south coast up to the North West and South Yorkshire, and is in force all day.

South Western Railway (SWR), which serves a number of popular coastal destinations in Dorset and Hampshire, including Bournemouth, issued a plea for people to avoid non-essential travel to beaches.

Like many operators across Britain, it has reduced its timetable on Friday and services that do run are expected to be busier than usual.

Stuart Meek, chief operating officer for SWR and Network Rail Wessex, said: “While it might be tempting to head down to the beach to enjoy the sunshine, we strongly urge customers to heed our advice to avoid getting stranded.”